The Bahá'í Revelation:
including Selections from the Bahá'í Holy Writings and Talks by 'Abdu'l-Bahá

Note: Since most of the excerpts included in the print version of this publication are already available elsewhere at this site (see the List of References), only the items not available elsewhere online have been provided below: the Table of Contents, the Preface, the Index, and six quotations of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, originally from the Bahá'í Peace Programme (1930), the Teaching Manual used at the 1948 European Teaching Conference, Star of the West (volumes 4 and 11) and "Selection from Bahá'í Scripture". We have also added a section for pointing out where one can find equivalent versions online for those sources cited in the "List of References" which might not be obvious due to the cited reference being no longer in print or otherwise obscure, and a cross-reference table showing which section numbers correspond to which page numbers.

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CONTENTS

PREFACE

page ix

FOREWORD

xiii

Part I: BAHÁ'U'LLÁH

I. PROCLAMATION TO THE KINGS AND LEADERS OF RELIGION

3

1. To Kings collectively

3

2. To Queen Victoria of Britain

9

3. To the Emperor Napoleon III of France

12

4. To Czar Alexander II of Russia

18

5. To Emperor "William I of Germany

20

6. To Emperor Francis Joseph of Austria-Hungary

21

7. To Sultan 'Abdu'l-'Aziz

21

8. To Nisiri'd-Din Shah of Persia

26

9. To the Pope Pius IX

29

10. To the Leaders of Religion Collectively

31

II. SELECTION FROM "GLEANINGS FROM THE WRITINGS OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH"

35

1. The Day of God

35

2. God and His Manifestations

40

(i) The Unity of God

40

(ii) The Messengers of God

43

(iii) Divine Revelation

49

(iv) The Sequence of the Prophets

52

(v) The Glory of God

59

3. Man

61

(i) The Soul of Man

61

(ii) Life after Death

69

4. Towards World Unity

74

(i) The World's Sickness

74

(ii) The Divine Physician's Remedy

74

(iii) Contribution of the Individual

78

(iv) The Laws of Bahá'u'lláh

83

(v) When the Victory arriveth

87

vi

5. Individual Conduct and the Path of God

87

(i) General Ethical Teachings

87

(ii) The Cause of God

93

(iii) The Path of God

97

III. SELECTION FROM "THE HIDDEN WORDS"

109

1. From the Arabic

109

2. From the Persian

112

IV. THE SEVEN VALLEYS

117

V. SOME IMPORTANT TABLETS

138

1. Words of Wisdom

138

2. Tablet of Carmel

139

3. Ridván Tablet

141

4. Tablet of Tarázát

146

5. Tablet of Tajallíyát

151

6. Tablet of Ishráqát

156

VI. THE COVENANT

161

VII. MEDITATI0NS

165

Part II: 'ABDU'L-BAHÁ

VIII. THE COVENANT

183

1. The Centre of the Covenant

183

2. The Power of the Covenant

185

3. Firmness in the Covenant

187

IX. THE MASTER'S LAST TABLET TO AMERICA

191

X. FROM THE TABLETS OF THE DIVINE PLAN

200

1. The Need for Detachment

200

2. Means for Unity

201

3. Conditions for success

203

XI. TABLET TO THE HAGUE

208

vii

XII. TABLET TO DR FOREL

220

XIII. GOD AND HIS MANIFESTATIONS

232

1. God is Beyond Human Comprehension

232

2. The Source of Unity

234

3. Religion is Progressive

237

4. Religious Cycles

240

5. The Universal Cycles

244

6. Two Classes of Prophets

245

7. Commentary on an Old Testament Prophecy

246

XIV. CONCERNING CHRISTIANITY

250

1. Prophecies concerning the Coming of Christ

250

2. The Greatness of Christ is due to His Perfections

251

3. The Resurrection of Christ

253

4. The Symbolism of the Bread and the Wine

254

5. The Second Coming of Christ

256

XV. MAN

259

1. The Origin of Man

259

2. The Significance of human life on Earth

261

3. Soul, Spirit, and Mind

263

4. The Two Natures in Man

264

5. The Power of the Holy Spirit

265

6. Pain and Sorrow

267

7. Healing by Spiritual Means

269

8. Reincarnation

271

9. Immortality of Children

276

10. Psychic Forces

277

11. Perfections are without limit

277

XVI. SOME ETHICAL AND SOCIAL TEACHINGS

280

1. 'Abdu'l-Bahá's first Public Address in the West

280

2. The World is Infirm

281

3. Dispel this Darkness

282

4. O Army of Life

284

5. Harmony in Diversity

286

6. Some Bahá'í Principles

288

viii

7. Collective Security

292

8. Industrial Justice

294

9. Justice, Crime, and Forgiveness

297

10. Practise Kindness to Strangers

301

11. Kindness to Animals

302

12. Bahá'í Marriage

303

13. Prayer

304

14. Obligation to deliver the Message

305

15. Consultation

305

XVII. EXCERPTS FROM THE WILL AND TESTAMENT OF 'ABDU'L-BAHÁ

307

LIST OF REFERENCES

319

INDEX

323

ix

PREFACE

PROBABLY no one will find in this compilation every piece of
Bahá'í Scripture he seeks. Even the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh
and 'Abdu'l-Bahá available in English are too numerous for
any single volume to contain everybody's particular choice. That
most people will find in this book most of the passages they value
most is the apex of the compiler's aspiration.
Although intended primarily as a handy comprehensive volume
for Bahá'ís, it should serve inquirers well who know something of
the history and teaching of the Bahá'í Faith and wish to deepen
their knowledge. For many purposes, serious students of religion
will also find it adequate.
Bahá'í Scripture in a broad sense consists of the Words of all the
Sacred Figures Who founded the great religions or promulgated
their teachings, for Bahá'ís revere all as holy; but usually the phrase
denotes the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, the Báb and 'Abdu'l-Bahá, the
Sacred Figures of this age. More strictly, the Writings of the Báb belong
to the Bábí Dispensation which preceded the Dispensation of
Bahá'u'lláh and they have for Bahá'ís something of the significance
of an Old Testament. In this book, Works of Bahá'u'lláh and
'Abdu'l-Bahá only are included.
Bahá'u'lláh revealed His Message between 1853 and 1892. His
earliest Writings, revealed in Baghdád between 1853 and 1863, include
the Kitáb-i-Íqán, the Hidden Words and the Seven Valleys.
In Adrianople between 1863 and 1868 most of His Tablets to kings
and leaders of religion were revealed. After 1868 in 'Akká came the
remainder of these and the Tablets expounding His laws. Here also
was revealed the Most Holy Book of the Baha'f Revelation, the
Kitáb-i-Aqdas, of which much is included in "Gleanings from the
Writings of Bahá'u'lláh", a selection of His Writings made and
translated by Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith.
Throughout the period, Bahá'u'lláh revealed prayers and meditations,
and wrote Tablets of varying weight and importance both
to His followers and to others. Many of these Tablets are not yet
x

collected and others not yet translated into English, but most of
His foremost Writings have been collected and translated.
Since Bahá'ís do not recognize as scripture unauthenticated reports
of the sayings of the Founders of their Faith, the authenticity
of Scripture is more easily established in the Bahá'í Dispensation
than formerly. Only documents in the handwriting of the Central
Figures, or signed by Them, or authenticated by Them in some
other way, are acceptable. The validity of translations is more difficult
to determine. None except those which were made by or in
consultation with the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith, until his
passing in 1957, or by the Universal House of Justice since its
election in 1963, are of unexceptionable validity.
Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá wrote in Persian and Arabic. In
the early days of the Bahá'í Faith in the West, translating was done
by Eastern Bahá'ís whose English was defective so that many translations
of the period are faulty and few have the advantage of good
literary English. Fortunately the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith,
Shoghi Effendi, has rendered into beautiful English most of the
important Writings of Bahá'u'lláh and several of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's
Tablets. His translation has been used wherever one exists.
'Abdu'l-Bahá's Writings are mostly Tablets to individuals and
Bahá'í Assemblies, of which many are still uncollected. Until His
passing in 1921, He wrote Tablets in Persian to correspondents all
over the world. These Tablets were translated into English with
varying competence by Eastern Bahá'ís whose native language
was not English. He gave many talks, but few records have been
authenticated and even those with an authentic Persian record are
available in English only as unauthenticated notes of the imperfect
translation accompanying the talk. Extensive compilations of
'Abdu'l-Bahá's Works have, therefore, to include either translations
of authentic Works into a strange idiom, or more easily
read, but unauthenticated, records of talks. Thus the quotations in
this compilation from "Paris Talks", "The Promulgation of
Universal Peace" and "Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era" are not
authentic scripture although consistent with known teaching of
Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
All translations which deviate excessively from ordinary English
usage, whether of the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh or 'Abdu'l-Bahá,
have been excluded from the compilation. Such translations are
xi

difficult to read with true understanding and probably distort the
meaning of the original.
The book comprises for the most part complete Tablets and excerpts
picked out by the Guardian himself. The Tablets represent
groups of teachings brought together for some reason by the One
Who gave them and these have been separated only when the
Guardian's authority or the context gave clear reason for doing so.
No prayers will be found here, as selections of Bahá'í Prayers are
easily available, but meditations which most prayer books omit
have been included.
The classification of items is the compiler's own, and no attempt
will be made either to describe or to justify it. If it helps the reader
to locate passages, it will have served its purpose.
Selections in Bahá'í Revelation which cannot readily be found elsewhere online (all are by 'Abdu'l-Bahá):

163. The spirit of this age is the Covenant and the Testament of God. It is like the pulsating artery in the body of the world.

(Teaching Manual used at the 1948 European Teaching Conference, 48)

164. Turn thy face unto the Kingdom of the Covenant, thy heart beating with the love of God, thy soul attracted to the fragrances of God, thy tongue speaking of the appearances of the Kingdom of God, thy insight rending veils asunder and disclosing the realities of things–and with a power which may move the heart of all in the world.
This is a confirmation from the Lord of the effulgence, while all else save this shall never profit thee! This is that by reason of which thy face shall gleam, thy heart shall de dilated with joy, thy soul become pure, thy back strengthened, thy spirit rejoiced and thy identity quickened. Leave the people of suspicion behind thy back and adhere to the manifest signs.

(Star of the West, IV, 10)

165. The world of the Covenant is like unto the Blessed Tree which is growing beside the river of the Water of Life in the utmost delicacy and beauty, and day by day it is developing and adding to its verdancy.

(Teaching Manual used at the 1948 European Teaching Conference, 49)

171. That which has come out of the centre of the Covenant you must take fast hold of. That which issues from my lips and that which is written with my pen is the reality. With this you can irrigate the vineyard of God. With this you can make the tree of the Cause of God become verdant. Through this the name of the Kingdom of God will be spread over the world. Through this the sun of reality will shine. Through this the clouds of mercy will pour down.

(Teaching Manual used at the 1948 European Teaching Conference, 50)

The following is only in part at Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, p. 228, no. 192, though it contains two additional sentences as well:

179. Today, those who are firm in the Covenant are soaring by the bounties of the Holy Spirit in lofty regions, while the wavering ones are depressed, dejected and afflicted with a thousand pains and calamities. This is because the confirmations of the Abhá Kingdom have been cut off from them. They have been deprived of the Light of the Sun of Truth and have no share from the breezes of the Holy Spirit. They resemble these souls who arose to agitate the minds of men after the time of Christ. Each one, by every subtle means, gathered around himself a group of souls, but all were eventually led to face disappointment, loss and failure. This was because the result of their principles was like unto a tree destitute of roots, or like the ocean foam. A rootless tree, no matter how tall and hardy it may seem, will ultimately wither away; and the ocean foam, however formidable it may appear, shall at last vanish and disappear.
In brief—the Covenant is like unto the ocean which preserves Bahá'í unity, and these souls are like unto the foam upon it. They manifest a temporary activity, but soon, like unto Judas Iscariot and his associates and those who approved of his conduct, they shall be completely forgotten. The ocean of the Covenant, on the other hand, is eternally surging, for it preserves Bahá'í unity.
Today, the Lord of Hosts is the defender of the Covenant, the forces of the Kingdom protect it, heavenly souls tender their services, and heavenly angels promulgate and spread it broadcast. If it is considered with insight, it will be seen that all the forces of the universe, in the last analysis, serve the Covenant. In the future it shall be made evident and manifest. In view of this fact, what can these weak and feeble souls achieve?

(Star of the West, XI, 240)

Paragraphs 3-4 of the following are in 30 October 1924 to a Local Spiritual Assembly - translated from the Persian, in Compilation on Trustworthiness, no. 2076 and also part of paragraph 3 and paragraph 4 are in Excellence in All Things, no. 19 cited as being from 'Abdu'l-Bahá, in "Bahá'í Year Book" ["The Bahá'í World"], vol. 1 (New York: Bahá'í Publishing Committee, 1926), p. 12:

4. O ARMY OF LIFE

214. O Army of Life! East and West have joined to worship
stars of faded splendour, and have turned in prayer unto darkened
horizons. Both have utterly neglected the broad foundation of
God's sacred laws, and have grown unmindful of the merits and
virtues of His religion. They have regarded certain customs and
conventions as the basis of the Divine faith, and have firmly established
themselves therein. They have imagined themselves as having
attained a glorious pinnacle of achievement and prosperity,
when in reality they have touched the innermost depths of heedlessness
and deprived themselves wholly of God's bounteous gifts.
The cornerstone of the religion of God is the acquisition of divine
perfections and the sharing in His manifold bestowals. The essential
purpose of faith and belief is to ennoble the inner being of man with
the outpourings of grace from on high. If this be not attained, it is,
indeed, deprivation. It is the realization of this deprivation that is
the true eternal fire.
Therefore, it is incumbent upon all Bahá'ís to ponder this delicate
and vital matter in their hearts, that, unlike other religions, they
may not content themselves with the noise, the clamour, the hollowness
of religious doctrine. Nay, rather, they should exemplify in
every aspect of their lives the attributes and virtues that are born of
God, and should arise to distinguish themselves by their goodly behaviour.
They should justify their claim to be Bahá'ís by deeds, not
by name.
He is a true Bahá'í who strives by day and by night to progress
and advance along the path of human endeavour, whose cherished
desire is so to live and act as to enrich and illumine the world; whose
source of inspiration is the Essence of Divine perfection; whose aim
in life is to conduct himself so as to be the cause of infinite progress.
Only when he attains unto such perfect gifts can it be said of him
that he is a Bahá'í.
In this holy dispensation, the crowning glory of bygone ages
and cycles, faith is no mere acknowledgement of the unity of God,
but rather the living of a life that manifests the virtues and perfections
implied in such belief.
His Holiness the exalted One, may my life be a sacrifice to Him,
has shown us the way of behaviour, has guided us to the path of
self-sacrifice, has taught us how to despise earthly rest and comfort,
and how to lay down our lives for each other. That sanctioned Being,
despite the loftiness of His position and the exaltation of His
spirit, chose to be chained and fettered that we might obtain the
light of divine guidance. All the days of His life He rested not for a
moment. He sought no repose nor laid His head upon the couch of
ease and security. His days were passed amid afflictions and suffering.
How can we follow Him and yet remain idle and at ease?
O my friends, arise to tend the pure and widely-scattered seed
planted in the hearts of men. Dedicate yourselves wholly to the
service of humanity. Then will the world be turned into a paradise;
then will the surface of the earth mirror forth the glory of the Abhá
Kingdom. Should you fail in this, great will be your deprivation
and grievous your loss.
O servant of truth, wouldst thou obtain the sovereignty of earth
and heaven? Seek nought but true servitude upon the threshhold
of the Abhá Beauty. Wouldst thou win the joy of liberty in this
world and the next? Desire but submission unto His holy will.
Wouldst thou discover the true way to God? Follow the path of
His covenant. Wouldst thou behold the light of eternal splendour?
Fix thy gaze upon His bountiful grace vouchsafed from the Abhá
Kingdom.

(Selection from Bahá'í Scripture, 331)
Online sources for items in the List of References which might not be readily obvious:

Note: All references to "America's Spiritual Mission" can be found in Tablets of the Divine Plan

Note 2: Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh is published within World Order of Bahá'u'lláh.

(Note: for assistance in finding unclear references, please see here and here.

KEY

Abbreviation

Title of book

A.S.M.

America's Spiritual Mission (1936)

B.P.P.

Bahá'í Peace Programme (1930)

B.W.F.

Bahá'í World Faith (1943)

D.B.

Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh (British Edition 1947)

E.T.C.

Teaching Manual used at the 1948 European Teaching Conference

G.

Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh

H.W.A.

Hidden Words (Arabic)

H.W.P.

Hidden Words (Persian)

P.M.

Prayers and Meditations

P.D.C.

Promised Day is Come (1941)

P.T.

Paris Talks (British Edition 1951)

P.U.P.

Promulgation of Universal Peace (1922)

S.A.Q.

Some Answered Questions (1930)

S.W.

Star of the West (various volumes specified)

T.A.B.

Tablets of 'Abdu'l-Bahá (1909)

T.B.

Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh (1917)

The dates are those of the first impressions of the editions consulted. Where no date is given, references are to section numbers, which remain invariant; otherwise references are to page numbers. American editions were used if no British edition existed.

[Regarding the sources for the foreword, a note at the end of the foreword states, "This material was compiled from two sources, The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh and The Faith of Bahá'u'lláh (a statement prepared for the United Nations Special Palestine Committee) both written by Shoghi Effendi.")]